Very rarely can there have been a matter of such public interest in which the public, the press and all commentators seem so clearly in agreement as to what is in the public interest and on which the Government appears to agree, but as I write has so far failed to act.

UDeCOTT’s lawyers appear to have successfully derailed the Uff enquiry, and it is suspended while the court examines whether the enquiry has shown sufficient evidence of bias against UDeCOTT such that the entire enquiry should be terminated.

The Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) has been given a very significant mandate by the Government-to manage a massive building development programme. The amount of funding controlled by UDeCOTT is several billion dollars and its portfolio of mega projects includes the Prime Minister’s Residence, the Tarouba stadium, the Waterfront development, the Government Campus, the Chancery Lane project, the Performing Arts Centre, the National Carnival Centre, the Legal Affairs towers and many others.

By early 2008 there were already questions arising in some quarters about how effective UDeCOTT was in carrying out its mandate as many projects were widely perceived to be behind schedule and way above original budget. Privately too, some people were querying the role of Calder Hart and how he rose to become a super mandarin as executive chairman of UDeCOTT, chairman of the NIB, chairman of Nipdec, chairman of the Home Mortgage Bank and chairman of T&T Mortgage and Finance.

The concerns about UDeCOTT became very public when a cabinet minister, Keith Rowley, started expressing concerns about the Performing Arts Centre and unilateral changes to plans for the project. He later expanded his criticisms to include queries about the governance structure and the award of certain contracts, and the approval of additional payments to contractors. The issue became public when Dr Rowley was dismissed from the cabinet in April 2008 because of alleged ’wajang’ behaviour.

The dismissal of Rowley was widely seen as political and the culmination of his long disagreement with Patrick Manning. The behaviour issue has largely been dismissed as a red herring. However the Rowley/Manning political divide is integral to an understanding of the issues and politics of the UDeCOTT enquiry. The attack on UDeCOTT’s integrity by Dr Rowley immediately received support from the opposition. Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj in April 2008 made startling allegations about the award of a $368 million contract to a company called CH Development, which was the newly formed local subsidiary of a Malaysian company called Sunway. Maharaj alleged, under the protection of parliamentary privilege, that Hart was related through marriage to the principals at Sunway. This allegation was stoutly denied by Mr Hart.

The outcry over UDeCOTT was of course fuelled by some fairly obvious evidence of non-performance. The Brian Lara Stadium was promised for the cricket World Cup in 2007 and is still not delivered. The cost overruns and lack of performance helped fuel concerns about the award of this and other contracts to Hafeez Karamath. The controversy about UDeCOTT would not go away and despite stout defences by Colm Imbert and Calder Hart and an attempt to refer it to a Joint Select Committee of Parliament, the Government was forced to finally appoint an independent commission of enquiry. The Government broadened the scope of the enquiry to include construction in general and the Cleaver Heights project in particular. This again is part of the Manning/Rowley political divide as Prime Minister Manning made allegations about this project and Dr Rowley. Despite the HDC saying there was no money missing this project was also referred to forensic accountants. The subsequent resignation of the HDC general manager and replacement of the entire board of the HDC may be seen as collateral damage in the dispute.

It is important to note that although the Government bowed to pressure to hold a public enquiry the four commissioners were hand-picked by them. I have never met any of the commissioners but find the allegations of bias laid by UDeCOTT to be faintly ludicrous. It is difficult to see how these commissioners, by the act of asking questions and making enquiries, could have demonstrated such bias as to render this multi-million dollar exercise void.

Recently the Government changed the board of the HDC (because it contradicted Minister Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde?). The Government also gave directions to TSTT, a corporation in which it has a minority interest, but controls through a public company. The public now sees UDeCOTT acting in a manner inimical to the completion of a Government-appointed enquiry and the same Minister Dick-Forde supports their right to use taxpayers’ money to do so. No wonder the public is outraged and even strong PNM supporters are forced to worry that something is very wrong.

Calder Hart’s statement to the enquiry exposed the deep animositybetween the major players. He accused Dr Rowley of favouring Emile Elias and being against Hafeez Karamath and complained of the vicious and untruthful attacks on his integrity. However the questioning by the commissioners revealed uncomfortable information about tenders procedures, breaches of Government protocols, and the fax number shared by Calder Hart and CH Development. I am sure we all await the outcome with bated breath. A forensic investigation of UDeCOTT’s contracts is certainly called for and this is best done under the stewardship of a new and independent board.